New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 7,124 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $3,376,000.
Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Watsco during the fourth quarter valued at $118,312,000. Sava Infond d.o.o. acquired a new position in Watsco during the 4th quarter valued at about $244,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Watsco by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 477,470 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $226,268,000 after buying an additional 13,409 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Watsco by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 24,908 shares of the construction company's stock worth $11,850,000 after buying an additional 2,007 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Korea Investment CORP lifted its stake in shares of Watsco by 198.7% in the 4th quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 21,611 shares of the construction company's stock worth $10,241,000 after acquiring an additional 14,377 shares during the period. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of Watsco in a research note on Friday, January 17th. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Loop Capital lifted their price target on Watsco from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Watsco from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Watsco has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $486.25.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on WSO
Watsco Trading Up 1.2 %
Shares of Watsco stock traded up $6.15 on Wednesday, reaching $517.80. 49,772 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 264,438. Watsco, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $396.82 and a fifty-two week high of $571.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.08 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $496.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $499.26.
Watsco (NYSE:WSO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 17.59% and a net margin of 7.04%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Watsco Increases Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $3.00 per share. This is an increase from Watsco's previous quarterly dividend of $2.70. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. Watsco's payout ratio is 81.51%.
About Watsco
(
Free Report)
Watsco, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the distribution of air conditioning, heating, refrigeration equipment, and related parts and supplies in the United States and internationally. The company distributes equipment, including residential ducted and ductless air conditioners, such as gas, electric, and oil furnaces; commercial air conditioning and heating equipment systems; and other specialized equipment.
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